This year, the Student Government Association’s spring 2024 elections will be held between March 15 and March 18. Two candidates are running to be the president of the Undergraduate Council of Students, while one candidate is running for the position of UCS vice president.
The candidates’ statements were shared in an email from the Student Government Association on Wednesday.
The ballot will be released to the student body on March 15 at 12 p.m. Election results will be announced on the steps of the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center at 7 p.m. on March 21 and will be emailed to the student body soon after.
Familiar with UCS: Sarah Frank ’25
Frank, a UCS presidential candidate and the incumbent vice president, has been involved with student government since her first year at Brown, having previously served as the secretary for both the 2025 Class Coordinating Board and UCS.
After multiple semesters with UCS, Frank has “learned a lot about how the institution works and what things are actually feasible for students to advocate for and change,” she said. Frank noted that the inner workings of UCS can be “surprisingly intricate.”
Through her role as current vice president, she has forged relationships with administration, Frank added. She believes that the ability to sustain those relationships is an important part of successfully implementing change.
“My priorities are a combination of what I think students want and need, and what I’ve learned is feasible from UCS’s position in the University,” Frank said.
She hopes to continue supporting UCS initiatives such as programs for free menstrual products and free shuttles to nearby airports for Thanksgiving and spring break, as well as the efforts she initiated as vice president.
These efforts have included attempts to improve UCS transparency by making meeting notes and an initiative tracker available on the UCS website. Frank also hopes to continue advocating for expanded dining hall hours on the weekends and the addition of a breakfast menu to the allergen-free kitchen in the Sharpe Refectory, she said.
Frank plans to examine whether external scholarships can be more flexibly applied to financial aid, develop a babysitting community service program and increase accessibility to University resources by compiling them into a “master resource bank,” according to her campaign flier.
A student advocate perspective: Niyanta Nepal ’25
Nepal, who is also campaigning for the UCS presidency, hopes to use the position to “facilitate a lot of really difficult conversations” between the University administration and the student body on issues important to students.
Nepal became the president of Students for Educational Equity in her sophomore year and currently leads the Brown Activist Coalition. She was also one of the 19 students who participated in an eight-day hunger strike in support of University divestment from companies “associated with human rights abuses in Palestine,” as identified in a 2020 report by the Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Practices.
Nepal listed “divestment from apartheid” as one of her institutional priorities and said that it is “critical” for UCS to amplify Palestinian voices.
Along with continuing current UCS initiatives, Nepal’s campaign flier outlines goals such as increasing benefits for campus staff and implementing student input about meal plans.
She also hopes to address “student concerns about the lack of student dialogue and input” on Brown’s recent admissions policies, Nepal said.
Based on recommendations from the Ad Hoc Committee on Admissions Policies, the University reinstated standardized testing requirements for the class of 2029, will continue early decision admissions and deferred a decision about the fate of legacy admissions, The Herald previously reported.
Nepal said she wants to ensure that her initiatives as president — including addressing divestment and equitable admissions processes — are “representative” of the student body’s perspectives on these issues, and she hopes to find “more opportunities for (University administrators) to hear a broader student voice” through testimonials, referendums and town halls.
“A diverse point of view”: Talib Reddick ’26
Reddick is currently the UCS chair of campus life and previously served as a UCS first-year representative. In an interview with The Herald, Reddick said that he is running for vice presidency in order to build upon the work he has done in other positions.
As a first-year representative, Reddick began the Formidable First Years initiative, which spotlights first-years engaging in exciting projects. He hopes to expand the initiative to feature student groups and clubs.
Reddick added that he also hosted a Black History Month “boulangerie” — at which students enjoyed baked goods and performances from campus music groups — and would like to run similar events if elected.
As chair of campus life, Reddick helped “bring sundaes to” Josiah’s this semester. He also advocated for the sale of letterman jackets in the Brown Bookstore, which will begin next semester, he said.
“My next step is bringing milkshakes to Jo’s because everyone wants those, and I’ve been working on that for nearly five months now,” Reddick said.
According to Reddick’s campaign flier, he aims to “push for equity in admissions” and increase University transparency surrounding divestment.
Reddick said he hopes to work in politics in the future, which motivated his candidacy for the position. “Student government is just a great place to work on that and just try to help the people that I care about,” he said.
“I also think it’s incredibly important to continue bringing a diverse point of view to UCS,” Reddick wrote in an email to The Herald. “Being a Black, first-gen student at Brown is one way that I bring that.”
Reddick also highlighted that his experiences as a part of the Labor Organization of Community Coordinators has enabled him to “act as a liaison between LOCC and (University) administration,” he wrote.
“Being a member who is able to engage in student activism while simultaneously maintaining my relationship with (University administration) has been very helpful, and I believe that can help me with my future in UCS,” Reddick added.
Kate Rowberry is a senior staff writer at The Herald.
